


Christmas with the Rizzoli's

by osteology_girl



Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:01:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25113586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/osteology_girl/pseuds/osteology_girl
Summary: Maura plans to spend Christmas with her parents in London, however her plane gets diverted because of issues at GatwickThis fic is also on FF.net
Relationships: Maura Isles & Jane Rizzoli, Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Attention everyone, this is your captain speaking. There has been a security issue at London Gatwick, and we are being diverted to Doncaster Sheffield Airport to Land. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. I will bring you more information when we have it"

"Doncaster. Where is Doncaster?" Maura thought to herself, sipping her champaign in her first class cabin. "Where is Doncaster, and how far away is it from London?" She made the mental note to ask the stewardess when she next passed.

"Oh, that works our very nicely for me" the voice next to her said.

Maura looked over to where the sound came from "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Oh, I didn't realise I said that out loud" The lady laughed "My mom moved to England when her and my Dad split up, took my brothers with her. She only lives about an hour away from Doncaster"

"Thats very lucky for you then"

"Very" she laughed again. She could get used to to that laugh.

"So" The lady started. "What has you flying over to England all on your lonesome?"

"I'm visiting my Mother and Father for Christmas"

"Do they live in London?

"Yes, they have a house in Kensington"

"Very fancy!"

"Is it? I've never been to their Kensington house, we usually have Christmas in Italy." She cringed as the words came out of her mouth. "Sorry, that sounds incredibly… spoilt… of me"

"Don't worry about it"

"How very rude of me, I'm Maura"

"Hi, I'm Jane. Nice to meet you Maura"

The stewardess came round with the bar service, both Jane and Maura got a drink. The notion of asking where London was vanished from Maura's head

"I could get used to first class" Jane said with a smile

"First time?"

"Yes ma'am"

"Are you excited to be spending the holidays with your family?"

"Well aren't you a chatty Cathy when you've had a drink"

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be sorry, it's cute"

Maura blushed.

"So, what do you do for a living?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to bore you with that"

"Well, I'm here for another 4 hours so…"

"I work for the coroners office, and yourself?"

"I'm a detective. Homicide"

"Oh wow. Very interesting"

"Yeah it is" Jane sighed.

They fell into a comfortable silence. The hum of the airplane the only thing audible.

a few minutes had gone by when Jane spoke again

"Where are you based?"

"I'm sorry?" Maura replied

Jane laughed. "Where in the good ol' U.S of A do you work"

"New York, but I've just accepted a new position elsewhere. So I'll be working in Boston, Massachusetts from March onwards. Where do you work Detective?"

"Well Doctor, I actually work in Boston… Wait. Are you our new M.E.?"

"I'm the new Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts"

"So yes then" Jane chuckled. "Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli, and I'm one of the detectives you'll be working with. You're a lot easier on the eye than Pike"

"Pike?"

"Our current M.E. Useless, rude, and slower than a snail"

"Oh, well I guarantee I am none of those things"

"Good"

Silence between the two ladies resumed once again. The Pilot issued his instructions to the cabin crew, who went about their duties as the plane started to make its final decent. Jane and Maura collected their hand luggage from their cabins and made their way off the plane. In a comfortable silence they walked to the baggage claim area to wait for their suitcases. Jane's was first on the carousel.

"Can you see yours?"

"Yes, they've just come out now. Those three Armani ones"

"Three? How long are you staying for!?" Jane exclaimed

"Only 10 days"

Jane starred at Maura, and then at the size of the suitcases on the conveyer belt. She grabbed the two biggest ones whilst Maura lifted the smallest one. She hoped her face didn't show how heavy the thought the suitcases were.

They started to move towards the exit, when Maura stopped suddenly looking panic stricken

"Whats up Doc" Jane laughed at her own joke, before she quickly realised now was not the time. "Are you OK, whats the matter?"

"I… I… I don't know where I am. How do I get to London. My driver was picking me up from London Gatwick, he won't have made it here." Maura was trying not to hyperventilate, her breathing was erratic and she was struggling to control it.

"Relax" said Jane, putting her hand on Maura's shoulder. "Ma is picking me up, I'm sure she can drop you off at the nearest train station"

"Oh, no, don't worry. I don't want your mother to go to any trouble, or bring her out of her way. I should be able to get a taxi to Kensington from here." She looked at Jane for confirmation this was possible.

"Maura, thats about 200 miles away… that will cost you about $700 and take about 6 hours, that's insane. The train will be much quicker and much cheaper"

"But Jane"

"But Jane nothing" Jane interrupted "Ma will drop you at the train station and I won't hear a word against it"

"Well, if you're sure?"

"Of course. Now lets get a trolley for your millions of suitcases"

"It's only three" She realised Jane was kidding when she seen the wicked grin on her face.

Jane pushed the trolly with 4 suitcases on out to the meet and great area where she spotted her mother with a giant sign with "JANE RIZZOLI" written on it

"Oh Jeeze"

"What?" Maura asked, but she soon found out what Jane was talking about

"JANEY, OH THERE YOU ARE, COME HERE. EXCUSE ME, LET ME THROUGH THATS MY DAUGHTER. I'VE NOT SEEN HER IN NEARLY A YEAR"

Angela Rizzoli engulfed Jane in the tightest hug ever

"Ma, c'mon. Let me go. People are staring at us"

"Jane Clementine Rizzoli, your mother has not seen you in so lo… Oh, hello, who are you? Janie, you didn't tell me you were bringing someone home with you, I'd have made more of an effort to look my best. She's very beautiful, totally gorgeous, completely your type, no offence, I think you're punching above your weight with this one"  
"MAAA, STOP!"

"Good Morning Mrs Rizzoli, my names Maura"

"Ma, stop harassing her. She's not my girlfriend, she's just someone I work with"

"I'm not harassing her, I was just telling her she was beautiful, can a mother not do that?"

"No Ma, you can't. Can we please drop her off at the train station?"

"Sure Janie, and don't get snappy with your mother… C'mon Maura, lets go. You can tell me all about yourself on the walk to the car" They turned and left Jane to push the trolley with the (heavy) suitcases. Jane could see them laughing with one another and found herself smiling at their interaction. She couldn't help but notice the doctor's heels, and legs and how she class="Apple-converted-space"

Maura could sense someone was looking at her. She turned to look at Jane. She saw how Jane was very slowly moving her eyes up her body. When their eyes locked, she smiled and Jane blushed a bright red colour and quickly looked away.

Jane loaded the suitcases into the trunk of her mothers car

"Go leave the trolley back in the rack"

"But MA, it's all the way over there" Jane huffed.

"Jane. Go."

"Ugh. Fine"

Jane marched off to put it back. Maura and Angela got into the car. Before Maura had even got her seatbelt on, Angela started quizzing Maura.

"Are you sure you're not dating my daughter?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're not dating, but you do find her attractive. Don't think I didn't catch you staring at her when we were at the Airport"

"Umm"

"You should ask her out. She'll say yes you know"

"Oh I don't think…"

"What? You don't think you're into girls? You don't think she's into girls? You don't find her attractive?"

"She is rather aesthetically pleasing"

"Is that a classy way of saying she's hot?"

"Yes"

"Great. Ask her out"

Just as they had finished, Jane got back into the car.

"What are you to talking about"

"Nothing" Angela said quickly

"I don't believe you but I'm too tired to argue"

"Good. Put your belt on Jane"

Jane helped Maura with her bags and into the train station. Both of them checked the boards trying to find a train going to London. But to no avail.

"Wow… All of the trains have been cancelled"

"There is one going to Manchester, will I be able to get a connecting one to London from there?"

"Yeah, you should. Right, let's go" Jane started wheeling the suitcases towards the exit

"Jane, where are you going?"

"Back to the car, Ma can drop you in Manchester. That's where she lives"

"Oh. If that will be OK?"

"Of course. Lets go"

Once again Jane helped Maura with her bags out of the car and into the train station.

"I can't help but feel I'm having Deja Vu" Laughed Jane

Maura smiled and walked with Jane

"What were you and my mother talking about"

"Oh nothing in particular"

"I don't think that's true"

"She just asked me if I found you attractive"

"I'm going to kill her"

"No Jane, don't. She said it with the best intentions"

"I'm still going to kill her. I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be. You are incredibly attractive"

Jane blushed

"This might be incredibly forward, but, when we're both back in Boston, would you like to go on a date with me?"

"Of course I would" Jane blushed

"Excellent, here is my cellphone number"

"Oh no, it looks like you'll be in Manchester a bit longer. All the trains have been cancelled"

"WHAT!?"

"Let me go see why"

Jane returned 15 minutes later

"Not enough drivers, trains are cancelled for the rest of today, but they are providing a bus service"

Maura scrunched up her nose at the idea of sitting on a bus

"I'll find a private transfer company, don't worry."

"Ok, well you may as well come back to ours and call around from there. It will be a lot more pleasant than standing here in Piccadilly train station on Christmas Eve"

"You would be correct. Are you sure your mother wont mind?"

"Did you really just ask me that question again?" Jane laughed.

They made their wait back to the car and explained the situation to Angela.

"Oh Maura I'm sorry dear, lets get to mine and I'll make you a nice cup of tea"

Once they arrived at the Rizzoli household, Maura booted up her laptop and set to work trying to find a private car company to take her to her parents. After about two hours, she gave up. She felt like crying. In fact, she was crying. She was tired, she was jet lagged, she smelt like an 8 hour overnight flight. She couldn't even find a hire company that was open at this time of day. She was stuck. She was stranded, and she couldn't get home to see parents. She had called them to tell them of her situation, but they had sent their driver home to his family for Christmas. They said they would try and work something out, but Maura wasn't holding out hope.

Jane entered the room, and noticed that Maura was crying. She put her hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her.

"Heeeyy, what's up?"

Maura continued to cry

"Sssssh, it's ok. Can you not find a way home?"

Maura nodded into Jane's shoulder.

Angela came into the room

"Whats up sweetie"

"She can't find a way to get to home"

"Well, it looks like you're spending Christmas with us!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Oh, no Mrs Rizzoli, I couldn't possibly stay with you for Christmas"

"Why? Are we not good enough?"

"That's not what I'm saying…"

"What then?"

"It's, just… Christmas is a time for family, you shouldn't need to worry about me. I'll book a hotel and be out of your way soon enough"

"I'm not letting you spend Christmas alone. You just said Christmas was a time for family, so come join our family. You're officially an honorary Rizzoli"

"But Mrs…"

"Did I stutter? Janie did I stutter?"

Both women looked at Jane, who in turn looked at both women in front of her. She gulped.

"No Ma'am"

"So it's settled then. Maura is spending Christmas here. Do you have any dietary requirements? Are you allergic to anthing? Oh my gosh, are you vegetarian or vegan"

"No Mrs Rizzoli, I have no special requirements"

"Oh phew"

She turned and walked towards the door

"Maura"

"Yes Mrs Rizzoli"

"You can call me Angela. Mrs Rizzoli is my ex-mother in law" she chuckled.

Silence fell as Angela left the room

"I'm sorry"

Maura turned to look at Jane with a puzzled look on her face

"In my 30 years on this planet I have learned not to argue with my mother. Even when she's wrong, she's always right. And you always do what she says. Always."

Maura looked down at her feet

"I'll book a hotel and be out of your way Jane, don't worry. It's not fair on your mother to have another mouth to feed"

"WHAT?! NO?! DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR WHAT I SAID"

"I did, but I'm choosing to ignore it"

"That is not a good idea"

"Why not?"

"Because she'll blame me if you go"

Maura turned to look at Jane

Mocking her mothers voice "What did you do Janie? What did you say to make her leave? Why do you always mess things up?"

"I'm sure she won't say that"

"You're right, because you're not leaving"

Lost for words, Maura looked at Jane. She was strikingly beautiful. Resigned to the fact she wasn't going anywhere, she stood up and left the room. She found Angela sitting in the living room watching re-runs of a show called Countdown.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay with you for Christmas Angela. I'm very sorry that I sounded ungrateful, I really do appreciate your kindness and generosity"

Angela smiled a warm smile at her "Well, T'is the season" and motioned for her to sit down beside her.

"I always watch this, but I'm never any good. I bet you would be though, you're a doctor so you must be very educated"

"I… Well… What is the pretence of the show?"

So you pick a bunch of letters from those piles, and you don't know what they are until they are put on the board. When you've picked 9, both teams have 30 seconds to make the longest word out of them. If you use all the letters you get bonus points"

"Oh, sounds simple enough"

"Then, in another round, the same thing happens with numbers. You pick a bunch, but this time they give you a number and you have to make those numbers make that bigger one"

"It sounds very interesting actually"

"Oh it get's better. At the end of the show, they have a conundrum. It always amazes me how fast those people solve them"

"Ma, you better not be boring her"

"I'm not, am I Maura"

"No, not at all. I'm enjoying the show"

"See" Angela said sticking out her tongue

"Whatever" and she disappeared out of the room again

Maura couldn't swear it, but she thought she heard Jane sneak out of the house.

A few hours went by, with Angela and Maura playing along with the game, and having general chit chat. There was a noise outside that sounded like car doors opening and closing

"MY OTHER BABIES" Angela squealed

And she was up and out the front door before she could even finish her sentence

Maura sat awkwardly on the couch whilst everything happened outside

"Who are you?"

"FRANCESCO RIZZOLI, THAT IS NOT HOW YOU SPEAK TO GUESTS"

"Sorry Ma" He said. Not taking his eyes of Maura.

"Hello, I'm Maura Isles"

"DOCTOR Maura Isles" Angela corrected "She's a guest of Jane's"

"JANE'S" Said Frankie, and Tommy, who had just come into the room. Both Rizzoli boys stared open mouthed

"Close your mouth boys, you're catching flies" Angela scolded

"Yeah didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to stare" Jane joked

"And just where have you been young lady"

"Out"

"Out where?"

"Out"

"Oookay"

Jane turned and left the room. Carrier bags rustling as she moved.

"She always leaves her Christmas shopping to the last minute" said Angela, rolling her eyes

"I don't know why does it. She never learns"

Maura laughed awkwardly. The two male Rizzoli's were still looking at her

"Frankie. Tommy. Stop."

"Sorry Ma" they chorused

Frankie and Tommy made themselves scarce in the three bedroom house, whilst Angela headed into the kitchen to start with christmas dinner preparation. Maura, at a loose end, followed her there.

"Is there anything I can do to help Mrs Rizz… Angela?"

"Yeah, you can hand me the bottle of wine from the fridge"

Angela got two glasses from the cupboard and handed them to Maura

"Do the honours would you?"

Maura poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to Angela

"It's been a day, huh?"

"You can say that again" Maura replied, taking a large gulp of wine

"Did you ask Jane out?"

Maura chocked on her wine. Angela continued to look at her

"I asked for her telephone number"

"I thought you worked with her, don't you already have her number?

"We don't work together yet, but we will be working together in the new year"

"Hmm. You're not lying to me are you?

"No, Mrs Rizzoli. I cannot lie. My parents taught me better"

"Ok"

The large glass of wine she had all but downed, was taking over"

"And I come out in hives"

Angela turned to look at her with a puzzled expression on her face. She decided not to pursue the issue, but made a mental note to bring it up at a later date.

"Can you pass me the potato peeler from the drawer under the microwave please?"

Maura handed her the peeler to Angela, and poured them both another glass of wine. Leaning against the counter and closing her eyes, she savoured this glass more than the first.

She suddenly remembered where she was, and who she was with.

"What else would you like me to help with?"

"Help? You actually want to help?"

"Yes, I'm a guest in your house, helping you with dinner is the least I could do"

Once again Angela stopped what she was doing, and turned to look at Maura, checking for signs she wasn't being serious

"Sorry, I'm used to doing this by myself. My kids never actually WANT to help"

She put Maura to work peeling and chopping veg whilst she set about preparing the turkey. They chatted merrily getting to know one another.

"If Jane doesn't marry you, I sure as hell will" and laughed

Maura quickly forgot about the comment as Jane walked into the kitchen, they smiled at each other, eyes lingering a bit too long

Angela cleared her throat. They broke eye contact and both blushed.

"Ok, turkey is prepped, veg is prepped. Thank you MAURA"

Jane rolled her eyes

"At lease SOMEONE wanted to help me"

"Every time we offer, YOU say we aren't doing it right and send us away"

"I know you all do it on purpose. I may be old, but I'm not stupid"

"Ok Ma, next year I promise I'll help"

Angela let out a huff "More wine Maura?'

"Oh yes please"

"Don't I get a glass of wine?"

"Since when did you like wine?"

"I'll have you know I have a sophisticated palate"

"Jane, you're from a working class family in Boston. Your sophisticated palate can't tell the difference between hamburger helper and 100% 80/20 chuck"

Maura laughed at their interaction and gladly accepted a 5th glass of wine.

Angela looked at her watch "Oh wow would you look at the time. Jane, would you be a dear and light the fire?"

Jane gladly obliged

Angela and Maura (and a freshly opened bottle of wine) headed into the living room

Jane had lit the fire with the help of Frankie and Tommy. The 5 of them settled down to watch a christmas movie that was playing on one of the T.V. Channels.

"Ma, can we open a present now?" asked Frankie

"What are you 5?"

"But MAA, it's tradition"

"Fine, but then it's straight to be or Santa won't come"

Angela Rizzoli stopped dead. She looked at Maura with a panicked look on her face

"Maura, I'm sorry. We have this tradition where we open one present before bed on Christmas eve. I didn't know you were coming, so I've not got you anything. I'm so sorry"

"Oh Angela, it's fine don't wor…"

"Yes you did Ma. This one here has Maura's name on it"

Jane was sitting on her knees in front of the tree holding an immaculately wrapped present.

"Here" Jane said as she handed it to Maura"

Both Maura and Angela had tears in their eyes. The thought of gifts had never even crossed Maura's mind.

"There is a few other things down by the tree with Maura's name on it too. See? You did remember"

Tommy handed Maura a tissue. She hadn't even realised she was crying. This was perhaps the most thoughtful thing anyone had ever done for her. Here she was, sitting in a house with people she had known less than 24 hours. With perhaps the most attractive woman she had ever laid eyes on, and had presents, plural, under the Christmas tree. So this is where Jane had ran off to earlier. To get her gifts.

More tears were rolling down her face when…

"Are you going to open it or what?"

"TOMMY, DON'T BERUDE TO OUR GUEST, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Angela Rizzoli barked at him

"Sorry Maura. It's just… We can't open our gifts, until you open yours"

She slowly and carefully started to unwrap the gift. It was pair of simple brown leather gloves with her initials stitched in.

"These are beautiful, thank you so much. You really didn't have to get me anything"

"Nonsense. You're family" Angela said gently. Choking back tears

Everyone else started opening presents chuckling and laughing and making fun of each other. She was soaking up the atmosphere of the family. It was different to how her family behaved. She was enjoying it.

"Right, it's nearly midnight. You two ladies are probably dead on your feet"

"Yeah, we're pretty tired. C'mon Maura, we should get ready for bed"

"Can you two help Maura up to Jane's room with her cases please?"

That's when it dawned on Maura. This was a three bedroomed house. She would be have to share a room with someone.

She tried not to show her revelation outwardly

"Be careful, they're really heavy" Jane teased.

Once her suitcases got brought up and they had changed, Jane broke the silence.

"I can sleep on the couch if you'd rather"

"Oh, don't be silly Jane. This is your house. I'm the guest, I'll sleep on the couch"

"You and I both know that my mother will flip if she see's that"

"True. Well, if you don't find it too awkward I'll happily share a bed with you"

"Are you sure? You look… On edge?"

"Sorry. I just can't remember the last time I had to share a bed with anyone. What if I snore? What if I have bad breath, or bad body oder"

Jane laughed "I'm sure none of those thing will happen. Relax"

"Ok"

Jane turned off the light, and they both got in to bed.

"Oh hey"

"yes Jane?"

"It's after midnight. Merry Christmas"

"Merry Christmas to you too Jane"


	3. Chapter 3

Christmas Day - Part 1

The two ladies lay in bed side by side. Short and shallow breaths, so neither make a sound.

"Can't sleep huh?"

"No. I'm a bit restless"

"Same" Jane laughed "This a slightly awkward isn't it?"

"Yes"

Jane and Maura both laughed. The previous days events still playing on both of their minds

"My mother is a whirlwind, isn't she?"

"She's the complete polar opposite to my mother"

"Really, how come?"

"My family, well, gatherings are a formal event. There isn't much hugging or presents, it's wine and dinner and formal attire. Very strict, very rigid"

"That sounds…"

"Not very fun?"

"Yeah" Jane laughed

Silence fell on the two women once again. Maura had just started to drift off when she heard a noise

"What was that?" She said softly

"That was my stomach. I'm hungry"

"You're hungry?"

"Yes, are you?"

"… a little…"

"Right lets go" Jane sat up and swung her legs out of from under the covers and stood up

"Go where?"

"To the kitchen. Thats where the food is kept" Jane teased

"Oh, ok"

Maura got out of bed, put on her slippers and dressing gown and followed Jane down the stairs. They were treated by the smell of the Turkey cooking.

"What time is it?"

"12:30, why?"

"Why does your mother have the turkey cooking at this time?" Maura enquired

"She always does this. She puts it on at a low temperature over night and then turns it up again for the last hour. It makes the turkey taste even better, plus it saves her having to get up early on Christmas morning to cook it"

Maura's stomach rumbled. Jane laughed.

"Lets get you fed"

"Do you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?" Jane asked, rooting though the cupboards trying to find the jars.

"I don't think I've ever had one"

Jane stopped what she was doing, and turned look at Maura

"WHAT? YOU'VE NEVER HAD A PEANU… Are you allergic?"

"No, I've just never had one"

"Well that settles it then"

Jane grabbed the Jars of peanut butter and jelly from the cupboard, the bread from the bread bin and a knife from the drawer and set about making the sandwiches. Maura watched her meticulously make the sandwiches, being careful to spread the ingredients carefully to the edges, and cutting the crusts off so delicately so the middle didn't ooze out.

She found herself starting at Jane who was wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts. Her mind started to wander, but she was pulled back to earth by a plate being set in front of her

"Bon Appetite"

"Merci Beaucoup"

"Of course you speak French" Jane teased

"I went to boarding school in France" Maura shrugged

Jane just starred at Maura open mouthed for a moment, before turning back to her sandwich.

They ate in silence. When they were done Jane cleared away their plates, she opened the fridge and got herself a beer, and poured a glass of wine for Maura. Maura gladly accepted the wine .

"C'mere, you've got something on your face"

Maura moved closer to her, Jane cupped her face with one hand and wiped a smudge of jam away from the corner of Maura's mouth. They locked eyes for moment. Jane made the first move, she placed a tender kiss on Maura's lips, which was returned.

"WHO'S IN THERE?" Tommy burst through the door.

Both ladies shot back

"TOMMY. IT'S JUST US, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Jane shouted

"Oh sorry Jane. I thought we were being robbed"

"No, Jesus Christ Tommy. Do burglars usually stopped to make PB&J sandwiches?"

"Sorry Jane" he said as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Both ladies laughed at what just happened for a few minutes

"C'mon, let's finish our drinks, it's late"

Maura nodded in agreement and finished her glass of wine. Jane cleared away her empty beer bottle and washed and put away the wine glass. She held out her hand to Maura, who accepted it, and lead her up the stairs.

Maura softly closed the door, and turned around. Jane softly pushed her against it, and kissed her once more.

Maura broke away first and whispered

"I think this is the best Christmas I've ever had"

"Me too" Jane replied with a smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Christmas day part 2

Jane awoke with Maura in her arms, she tried to move her without disturbing her but when she tried to shift her own weight, Maura pulled her closer.

"5 more minutes please"

Jane chuckled to herself

"Fine, just 5 more minutes, otherwise my mother will bust in here asking why we're not at breakfast"

With that sentence Maura fully awoke, and separated herself from Jane

"Oh I'm so sorry Jane"

"What for"

"For falling asleep on you"

"Oh don't worry, I didn't mind" Jane smiled

Maura smiled back

"JAAAANE, MAAAAURA. BREAKFAST IS READY" Called Angela

"Told you" Jane rolled her eyes

Jane pulled on her long pyjama bottoms and hoody while Maura put on her dressing gown and slippers. They headed down the stairs together.

"Morning Ma"

"Morning Jane, Morning Maura, did you both sleep ok?"

"Yes Ma" Jane replied, helping herself to the bacon in the middle of the breakfast table

"And you Maura dear?"

"Yes Angela, I slept very well thank you. That mattress is very soft"

"This one is polite Jane, she can stay over any time she wants"

Maura blushed. Jane smiled at her with a mouth full of bacon.

"Sit Maura, eat, please, there's plenty of food"

Maura sat on the seat next to Jane, Angela sat opposite, the three of them engaging in light conversation.

"Morning Ma" the two Rizzoli boys chorus

"Morning boys"

"Can we open presents now please?"

"Boys, what age are you? You know the drill, no presents until after breakfast"

Maura smiled, Jane rolled her eyes. Frankie and Tommy help themselves to pancakes and bacon and wolfed them down as fast as possible.

"Now ma?"

"Fine, ladies have you finished?"

"Yes ma"

"Yes Angela"

"Ok lets go!"

Angela, Frankie and Tommy all headed to the living room. Jane got to the door before Maura and turned to her

"Don't worry, there is a present or two in there for you" and without waiting for a response, she turned and entered the living room to join the other three.

Maura was a bit taken aback. She wasn't expecting anything, after all, her spending christmas here wasn't planned. At all.

She entered the room and was completely taken aback by what she saw

"Mother, Father, what are you'd doing here" Maura said through a stream of tears

Well" her mother spoke first "Ms Rizzoli called us last night very late last night and told us that our daughter was distraught that she was missing Christmas with us"

Maura turned to Jane

"Hey, don't look at me. I didn't do anything"

She turned around and saw Angela smiling and a tear rolling down her cheek

"Oh thank you Angela" she hugged her, then turned to her parents and hugged them both in turn

"Kids, we have guests. What do we do when we have guests?"

"Mr and Mrs Isles, please take a seat" Frankie jumped up and kicked Tommy to get him out of his seat

"Ouch" he bolted up out of the chair "Yes, please sit down" Tommy said

"Would you like a glass of wine, or a beer?"

"Jane, it's 10am" Angela scolded

"What? it's Christmas"

"I would love a glass of wine Jane, please" Maura's father replied

"Oh, yes, that's a wonderful idea, I would also like one please Jane"

"See, never too early on Christmas Ma"

"I'll come help you Jane" Maura said following Jane out of the room

"How has your morning been then?" Jane said with a smirk on her face

"It's been fantastic, but, how did your mother get my parents details"

"Well, apparently our mothers have the same Lawyer"

Maura tilter her head and looked at Jane

"So, long story short. My dad was an asshole to my mother about the divorce. He served her papers that cut off any financial ties to her, i.e. she wouldn't get any alimony off him. That totally backfired on him because literally the day she signed the papers she won the lottery. He tried to take her to court to get half and my mother hired some lawyer she met at one of those free advice centres in Boston. He name dropped a few of his clients, one of which was your parents."

"ok…"

"So my mother called him yesterday and told him he needed to get the Isles up here somehow"

"You're mother remembered my mothers name from a conversation she had years ago?"

"My mother has an amazing memory. She can remember everything that has ever happened. Ever."

Tears began to fall down Maura's face once again. She doesn't think anyone has ever done anything this nice for her

"Heyyy don't cry, Christmas is a time to be happy"

Jane moved towards Maura and engulfed her in a massive hug. She melted into Jane's arms, but pulled back slightly and placed a kiss on Jane's lips. Jane kissed her back, softly at first.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt girls, but we're all spitting feathers out here"

"Ok Ma, we'll be right through" Jane looked at Maura "She thinks she's British"

Maura laughed. It was music to Jane's ears

"C'mon, we better bring in these drinks"


	5. Chapter 5

Maura and Jane carried in the drinks for everyone. Wine for the Isles' and beer for the Rizzoli's

"Are you absolutely certain you don't mind us staying for Dinner Angela?"

"I insist you stay for Dinner, we have more than enough food to go round"

"I'll call the house keeper, so she knows we won't be back" Mr Isles stated

"House keeper" the Rizzoli boys both mouthed to Jane

She shrugged her shoulders and sipped her beer

"Boys come and help me with dinner"

"Yes ma" they chorused

The two Rizzoli boys followed their mother into the kitchen.

Maura and her parents were catching up with what they had missed since they had last seen each other. Jane was content to listen to them talk. Maura's voice was like music to her ears, she could listen to it all day long, and she doesn't think that she would ever get tired of hearing it.

"Jane?"

"Hmm? Sorry I must have zoned out"

"Mother, just asked how long you've been a police officer"

"15 years, joined straight out of high school. Graduated top of my class. First woman to that, ever.

"That's very impressive Jane" Maura's father said

"Thank you sir"

"Oh, please. Call me…"

"DINNER IS READY, EVERYBODY IN" hollered Angela

With that, everyone got up and went into the dining room. Jane held the door open for held the door open for everyone. Maura stopped right in front of Jane, and looked into her big brown eyes.

"Thank you"

"What for?" Jane asked

"For letting us all intrude upon your Christmas" and with that, Maura got on her tip toes and kissed Jane, she promptly turned and entered the dining room

"Oh it is my pleasure" Jane said to nobody

Jane took her place at the table opposite Maura. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.

Dinner was silent, with the exception of the people asking for food to be passed.

Once dinner was over and the plates were cleared from the table by Angela and Frankie, they all retired to the living room.

"What is your Christmas Day routine?" Angela asked the Isles'

"Oh we don't usually do much, we have dinner together then usually go our separate ways. Phillip and Maura usually have so much work to do. I usually just go to the drawing room and listen to music with a glass of wine"

"You work on Christmas Day?!" All 4 Rizzoli's exclaim

"Ma would kill us if we even talked about work over the holidays" Tommy added

"Every family is different Tommy, mind your mouth"

"Sorry Ma"

"Who wants dessert" Angela quickly changed the subject

"Oh I couldn't possibly fit any more food" Constance replied

"Can I enquire what is for dessert?" Maura's father asked

"Cannoli"

Jane looked at her mother with a stunned look on her face

"Where did you get fresh cannoli on Christmas Day, in England?"

"Maura made them"

"What… You… When… How?" Jane starred open mouthed at her

"I got up really early this morning and made them. Angela said they were everyone's favourite"

Everyone turned to look at Maura, even her mother and father

"Really?" Frankie said

"Yes, really" Maura replied

"Jane, you better marry her or I will" Frankie turned to his sister

Both ladies blushed at the comment

"Maybe I will… If they taste good" Jane laughed.

Everyone made their way to the kitchen once again for dessert

"Holy shit"

"TOMMY. MIND YOUR LANGUAGE"

"Sorry Ma"

"These are amazing Maura"

"Thank you Tommy" Maura blushed

The rest of the meal was had in silence

Angela offered everyone a tea or coffee, and everyone retired to the living room. Except for Jane and Maura.

"Thank you"

"What for? It should be me thanking you Jane"

"What for?" Jane laughed

"Making this the best Christmas I've ever had"

"Well, this has probably been the best Christmas I've ever had too"

"Really? How come?"

"Well, I got to spend it with my family. And the most beautiful woman in the world"

"I could say the very same thing"

Jane blushed. It's not often she gets described as beautiful.

"Can I be forward?"

"Sure" Jane replied

"Would you consider, perhaps, being my girlfriend?"

Jane looked at Maura for a moment, trying to figure out if she is being serious or not. Maura looked maintained eye contact with Jane, worried that she might say no.

"Of course. As long as you would want to be mine?" Jane laughed nervously

Maura smiled. Jane leant over the kitchen table, and kissed Maura.

"Ahem" Maura's father cleared his throat

The two ladies broke apart

"Hello father"

He looked at both girls

"I'm glad you've found someone Maura" and smiled a toothy grin at them both

And with that, he put the cups and saucers in the sink and left the room

"I won't disturb you ladies any further"

"Oh wow, he was cooler with that than I thought he would be"

"I've been out since I was 13 Jane, he's had 20 years 'to be cool with it'"

Jane laughed "So I guess your mom is too"

"Definitely"

"Should we go join everyone in the living room"

"Sure" Jane replied. She took Maura's hand and led her into the other room


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jane held the door open for Maura as she entered the living room, where they took a seat on the couch beside Angela.

"Thank you very much Mrs Rizzoli, really." Maura's mother said

"Oh, it's really no trouble at all, there is always so much food, we have leftovers for nearly a week most years. I don't like my kids going hungry"

"We really do appreciate everything you have done for us. Getting us here, and letting us join your family for Christmas. I think this is by far the best Christmas I've ever had."

Angela blushed

"Really, Angela. We got to see our daughter on Christmas day. As much as we don't have any traditions, we would have been devastated if we weren't all together"

"Oh, honestly it's nothing, really. Christmas is for family and that's what we are. Family."

The conversation turned to general chit chat about Christmas and television and family holidays

"Hey, I got you a present"

"Jane, you already gave me a present"

"I know, but I figured I'd save this one just in case things weren't going this smoothly"

Maura looked at Jane with a perplexed face

"C'mon"

Jane got up from the couch and went into the kitchen, Maura followed.

Jane reached two wine glasses down from the cupboard and set them on the side. She then opened up a door that Maura hadn't even noticed was there before. It was a wine cellar.

Jane pulled out a bottle and handed it to Maura

"Has that door always been there?"

"No, my mother had it installed an hour ago" Jane smirked

"Haha, very funny detective"

"Well, I do try… Are you going to take this off me, or am I going to have to keep holding it for you"

Maura took the bottle out of Jane's hand and inspected it

"Jane, this is my favourite wine"

"I Know"

"It's quite expensive "

"I know" Jane grimaced

"How did you know"

"Because I paid for it"

"No, I mean how did you know it was my favourite wine"

"Well, I didn't until your mother told me"

"My mother told you"

"You're mother told me"

"When?"

"In the car"

"In the car? When were you in a car with my mother?"

"Yeah, I picked her up from the airport"

"When you picked her up from the airport"

"I feel there is an echo in here… Yeah, so my mom called your mom and your mom ended up getting a helicopter from London To Manchester at like 3am and I went and collected her from the airport"

Maura set the wine done and kissed Jane

"Thank you so much"

"No problem"

"Where did you get the wine?"

"I know a guy"

"You know a guy?"

"There's that echo again" Jane smirked

Maura laughed, and took that as a hint to drop the subject. She opened the wine and poured it into the glasses Jane had left on the side. They both picked up a glass and sat down at the kitchen table letting it settle in the glass.

Silence befell on the two ladies as they savoured the wine

"This is good wine" Jane stated

"I should think so for 6 thousand dollars a bottle"

Jane chocked "6 thousand dollars?!"

"Yes Jane… I thought you said you paid for this"

"I did, but I did not pay 6 grand for a bottle"

"More or less?"

"Waaaaaay less"

"OH, There you two are. It's board game time"

"Yesssss, this is my second favourite part of Christmas"

"What's the first?" Maura asked

"Food" both Angela and Jane said at the same time

The board games went well into the late evening, the laughs and cries of "cheat" becoming louder as the beer and wine flowed. Jane and Maura were gravity going closer and closer to one another as the night went on.

They were sitting on the sofa, Jane with her arm around Maura and in turn, Maura had her hand on Jane's knee.

"Hey, you ok?" Jane asked

"I'm perfect thank you" Maura replied as she was looking at how well her parents were getting along with all the Rizzoli family

"I really do think this is the best Christmas I've ever had"

"Me too" Jane replied as Maura snuggled into her

Just then Mr Isle's phone rang, he excused himself and then left the room. Not that anyone had noticed, they were all too busy playing "Frustration"

"I'm afraid that was our driver, he will be here in an hour to bring us to the airport" Maura's dad announced

"Maura, would you like to come home with us, or would you like to stay here?"

Maura somehow forgot, or perhaps didn't realise, that her mother and father would have to go at some point. There wasn't enough room for everyone to stay at the Rizzoli house, not that it was a small house, but there wasn't enough beds.

Maura had stayed silent for a few seconds to long

"You can stay here for as long as you like sweetie, but we wont be offended if you want to go"

Maura was still silent. She knew she should go home with her parents, after all, it was the reason she was over. But she wanted to stay with Jane. She wanted to spend all her time with Jane.

"Perhaps" Constance said "we should decide over a glass of wine, yes?"


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm really happy you decided to come with us Jane"

"Well, thank you very much for inviting me, Mrs Isles"

"Oh please, call me Constance"

"The rest of the journey to the airport went by in a comfortable silence. Jane had rested her hand on Maura's leg, and Constance had her head on her husbands shoulder

"Arthur dear, did you let the pilot know we had an extra body for the flight home?"

"Yes dear"

"It was then that it dawned on Jane that she would be flying to London. She had somehow forgot that, she wasn't sure how. Perhaps it was the beer?

"As the driver pulled on to the runway, Jane and Maura both noted that it was a private Jet, and not a helicopter like originally planned.

"A private jet?!" Jane exclaimed out loud

"One of my colleagues from the university I teach at is an avid aviator. He very kindly agreed to let us borrow his plane." replied Arthur.

"The car came to a hault, and the side door was opened. The Pilot took Jane's hand to help her out of the car. Jane turned, and held hers out to

"Thank you Jane. What a gentleman you are"

"Jane laughed and held Maura's hand as they ascended the stairs to the aircraft.

"They settled into their seats across from one another and Constance handed them a glass of Champagne.

"Merry Christmas everyone, cheers"

"They all clinked glasses, took a sip of their drinks, and put their seatbelts on.

"Jane woke up to the feeling of tires hitting the ground. She'd slept the whole flight. She opened her eyes, and looked across the table to see Maura just stirring awake.

"Hey"

"Hey you" Maura replied

"They listened to the pilot make his announcement, and took their seatbelts off. The pilot opened the door, descended the stairs and helped everyone down from the steep bottom

"Maura, Constance and Jane all got in the car, whilst Arthur stayed and chatted to the Pilot for a moment before he too got in the car.

"The conversation in the car picked up as they drove to Maura's parents London townhouse.

"About half an hour later they arrived, and once again the chauffeur helped everyone out of the car, and into the house with their bags.

"The time was after midnight. The housekeeper had made hot chocolate for them and handed them each a mug when they entered the

"This is the best hot cocoa I've ever had" remarked Jane

"Ms Pendergast makes the best hot drinks I've ever tasted."

"Jane nearly dropped her cup as she walked into the living room

"OH my God, your house is HUGE"

"This is quite small for a townhouse" Constance stated. "We didn't really need a bigger one when it's only the two of us here for most of the year"

"Jane started at Constance with her mouth agape. Maura tugged on Jane's hand lightly. Jane closed her mouth, and turned to Maura.

"Hey"

"Hey you"span

"They both smiled.

"Goodnight Maura, Goodnight Jane." Maura's parents said as they headed down the corridor to their room

"Would you like to go to bed? Or would you like to stay up for a bit longer?"

"It was then Jane noticed how tired she actually was. The cocoa had warmed her, and now she was sleepy.

"Yeah, sleep sounds great. Let me grab our bags from the front door and…"

"Your bags are already in your room Ms Rizzoli" Ms Pendergast replied

"Oh. Ok. Thank you very much"

"Ms Pendergast smiled, turned, and left the room

"Ok, then I guess we can just go to bed?"

"Maura took Jane's hand and lead her to her bedroom. As soon as Maura closed the door, Jane captured her lips in a searing kiss. Maura returned it delightedly.

"I'm sorry, I've been wanting to do that for HOURS"

"Me too" Maura exhaled.

"They maintained eye contact for what felt like forever.

"Jane closed the gap once more. Both ladies started hastily undressing one another. Jane pushed Maura onto the bed. She took one look at Maura laying

"Fuck. You're beautiful"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Maura woke up first. She slowly opened her eyes as she tried to stretch. She was fully tangled up in Jane Rizzoli, and she wasn’t complaining.

“Morning” Jane rasped sleepily 

“Good Morning to you too Jane”

“I had fun last night”

“me too” Maura smiled, as she kissed Jane

“mmmm I could get used to this” Jane

“Are you hungry?”

Before Jane had a chance to answer, her stomach rumbled furiously

“I’ll take that as a yes” Maura chuckled 

Maura reluctantly untangled herself from Jane, got out of bed and walked towards the ensuite. She could feel Jane’s gaze looking her up and down.

“I’m having a shower detective, if you’d like to join me” she said, lingering in the doorway.

Jane had never got out of bed so fast in her life.

*************************

A short while later the two ladies emerged from the bathroom in towels. The bed had been made, their clothes from yesterday had been taken for the wash, and their suitcases had been unpacked

“What the…” Jane started

“Oh its fine, the house keepers have been in”

Jane looked at Maura with her mouth wide open

She regained her composure

“It’s as well I didn’t have anything naughty in there”

Maura looked at Jane, head tilted with a confused look on her face. She looked like she wanted to ask what she meant, but decided she’d rather not know. Jane smirked at the joke being lost on Maura.

Janes stomach rumbled again

“Lets get some breakfast”

The two ladies entered the kitchen to the smell of fresh coffee brewing. They both sat down at the table. Out of habit, Maura picked one of the newspapers that were neatly stacked there.

“Good Morning Dr Isles, Good Morning Detective Rizzoli. May I get you some breakfast?”

“Oh yes please Mrs Pendergast. I’ll have my usual if that’s ok? And Jane will have a full English”

Maura looked at Jane

“Oh, er, yeah full English sounds great” 

Mrs Pendergast smiled at the two ladies and went to the kitchen

“Whats a Full English?”

Without looking up from her newspaper Maura recited:

“Sausage, bacon, egg, mushroom, fried tomato, black pudding, fried egg, fried bread and if Mrs Pendergast has any in the pantry, Potato bread. Which isn’t actually part of a full English, but Father really likes it so it’s usually in the house”

Jane’s stomach once again rumbled

“That sounds amazing… What’s black pudding”

“It’s an English version of blood sausage”

“Ah ok”

“I promise you’ll like it” Maura smiled at Jane “It tastes better than it sounds”

Maura looked back to her paper

“How rude of me, I’m sorry Jane” she said as she folded the newspaper and put it back at the top of the pile

“Oh no, it’s fine. Don’t worry, honestly. Read the paper”

Maura reached her hand across the table, and took Jane’s hand. Jane smiled and entangled their fingers together.

Constance and Arthur came round the corner

“Good Morning Maura, Good Morning Jane”

“Good Morning” they chorused

Mrs Pendergast set a full plate of food in front of Jane, and muesli mixed in with Greek Yoghurt in front of Maura, along with two cups of coffee for each.

“That looks healthy”

“It’s not bad. It’s my Christmas treat”

Mrs Pendergast returned with breakfast for Maura’s parents. All for of them ate in relative silence, until Arthur spoke

“What are your plans for today?”

Jane looked at Maura with a mouth full of food. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. Last night when she left, the only thing on her mind was Maura.

“Is there anything you’d like to do Jane?”

Jane swallowed the food in her mouth

“I’m happy to do whatever anyone else is doing. I don’t want to ruins anyone’s plans”

“Nonsense Jane, you’re not ruining anyone’s plans. Truth is, we never really have plans around Christmas” Constance replied

“Tell you what” Arthur started “Lets spend it as a family. God knows the last time we actually spend more than 3 hours together. Let’s go for a walk. Get some fresh air.”

“Wonderful idea, love. Jane, Maura. Any objections?”

“No” the girls chorused. Maura looked delighted at the idea

They finished their breakfasts and got ready to leave. A flask of hot chocolate had been left by the front door for them to take with them.

“Ready to go Jane?” Maura asked

“Ready when you are” she replied with a smile

She took Jane’s hand and interlaced their fingers as they left the house

********************************************************************************************************************

The 4 of them sat down on a bench. Arthur passed around cups of hot chocolate

“How long are you in England for Jane?” Constance asked

“I’m not going back until the new year. I had a tonne of vacation time to use, so I thought why not go see my mother”

“I bet your mother is excited to have you home for that long”

“Yeah, she didn’t shut up about it for a whole month after I told her” Jane rolled her eyes

“Not that we want you gone, but, when you want to leave just tell us and we’ll arrange the car to take you back”

“Oh don’t worry about it, I’ll get the train or the bus home whenever they start running again”

“You’ll do no such thing, we brought you down here, we’ll make sure you get home!”

Jane didn’t see the point in arguing. She could tell Constance would not back down. Her mother is exactly the same.

“Ha ok then. Thank you very much.”

They sat in relative silence whilst they finished their drinks.

“There is a really nice restaurant around the corner. Should we get some lunch?” Maura asked.

“Oh I could be tempted” replied Jane

Constance looked at Arthur

“Your father and I will pass dear, you and Jane have fun”

“Oh ok” maura replied

They went their separate ways. Maura called the restaurant to make sure they were open, and booked a table. Jane took Maura’s hand in hers whilst they walked the short distance to the place.

When they got inside, a man almost immediately engulfed Maura in a hug

“Maura, it’s so lovely to see you again. I feel like it has been a lifetime since I last saw you!” the man said in a very Cockney accent”

“Ah Pierre, it has been too long. It’s been about 3 years”

“You don’t write, you don’t call, I thought you’d fallen out with me” he laughed

Maura playfully swotted his arm

“Oh look, you’ve brought a friend”

“Pierre, this is Jane”

“Jane, how nice to meet ya.” He smiled at her

“Come in, sit down, I’ve prepared your usually table Maura. Let me take your coats”

He showed them to the table, and took their coats to put them in the cloak room

“He doesn’t sound french enough to be called Pierre” they both laughed at Jane’s remark. 

A server appeared at the table with a bottle of wine. She uncorked it, and poured it into the glasses on the table

“Thank you Melanie”

“You’re welcome Doctor Isles. Are you two ready to order? Or would you like a few more minutes?”

“I’m ready to order, are you Jane?”

Jane looked up and smiled “Yeah, I’m good”

They gave the waitress their orders and sat in a moment of silent. Lost in their own thoughts. Maura held her hand open on the table, Jane took her hand a smiled.

“I’ve really enjoyed the past few days” Maura said, breaking the silence

“Me too”

“I don’t really want it to end”

“Me either”

“What are we going to do?”

The waitress arrived with their food, and set it down in front of them “Enjoy” she said as she turned and walked away.

“Maybe you could come back up North with me? Or if you want to spend more time with your parents, maybe you could come up for New Years?”

“My parents usually have a party on New Years Eve, maybe you can call come to that?”

“You want my family to come to a sophisticated New Years Party… You remember Christmas right?” Jane Chuckled. “We’ll figure something out, don’t worry”

“Do you think you can stay one more night?” Maura asked, batting her eyelashes. 

“Of course” Jane replied with a huge grin.


	9. Chapter 9

"When they finished their meals, Pierre would not accept any form of payment

"Maura Isles, put your money away, this one is on the house"

"But Pierre.."

"But Pierre nothing. Go, get out. Enjoy your day."

"Not happy with not being able to pay for their meals, Maura put a substantial amount in the tip jar at the bar.

"They left the restaurant and started to walk home. Maura took Jane's hand and interlaced their fingers. Jane smiled.

"When do you go back to Boston?" Jane asked

"January 12th. I start my new job on the 14th. How about you?"

"The 4th of January, I wanted a few days to get back to Boston time before I go back to work on the 7th."

"Do you think you would like to pursue a relationship when we get back to Boston?"

"Would you?"

"I would" Maura smiled

"Then I would too"

The two walked in a comfortable silence until they got back to the house. Jane was enjoying the moment. Holding hands with a beautiful woman, nothing getting in the way, not work, not life, not anything. She felt comfortable with Maura, like she didn't have to impress her. Like she'd known her for a lot longer than 3

Maura felt the same. Maura had very few friends growing up, she wasn't sure how to handle social situations. She only knew how to act around her parents friends, and how to interact with potential donors to the Isles Foundation. She felt she could be herself around Jane, she didn't have to worry about "being too smart". Jane would just smile at her. She wished she'd found Jane sooner.

As soon as they entered the house, Mrs Pendergast handed them a fresh cup of coffee.

"You ladies must be freezing. It's minus 5 out there. Only going to get colder into the evening"

They gratefully accepted the mugs, not realising how cold they actually were. Maura led Jane into the living room, where one of the housekeepers had lit the fire. They took a seat on the sofa and drank their coffee

"So, where do you live in Boston?" Jane asked

"Beacon Hill, what about you?"

"Not far out of Revere"

"You're not too far away then"

"Not at all" Jane laughed. "Are you an only child?"

"Yes, just me. I was adopted when I was a baby"

"Oh…" Jane gave a nervous laugh

"You weren't expecting that?"

"I was not expecting that"

They both laughed

"Would you like to watch a film?" Maura asked, taking off her shoes and bringing her feet up onto the sofa.

"Oh, yeah sure" Jane agreed. Glad of the change of subject

Maura flicked on the TV and was greeted with the sound of brass instruments

"Oh I love this film" Jane exclaimed

"What is it?" Maura asked

"Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day out"

"Oh, I've never heard of it"

"You're in for a treat"

\-----------------------

Maura had fallen asleep on Jane's shoulder within minutes, Jane couldn't help but admire how beautiful she really was, even when she slept. She looked peaceful, serene even. Jane was no longer paying attention to paying attention to the film. She was listening to Maura's even breathing, watching her eyes flutter in sleep, feeling how soft her skin feels against her own rough callused hands.

The familiar sounds of the theme song played out in the room. Maura stirred. She noticed Jane's strong arm around her, how her fingers were tracing circles on an exposed bit of skin. She didn't want to move. She wanted to stay in this blissful moment for a while longer.

"Hey, you're awake"

"I'm sorry"

"What for?"

"I fell asleep and missed the film"

"It's fine. It's only 20 minutes long, and it's on every Christmas"

Maura looked up at her and smiled. Jane closed the gap between them, and kissed her. They separated, Maura looked at Jane. Jane opened her eyes.

"I enjoy that more and more every time"

Maura smiled a smile that would rival the Cheshire cat. She shifted her position, and kissed Jane.

"Maybe we should move this to somewhere more… Private?" Jane spoke between kisses "I don't think you'd want your parents walking in on… this"

Maura had been lost in her own bubble. She had forgotten where she was, she forgot she was staying with her parents. She forgot they existed. She was wrapped up in Jane, Jane's kisses, Jane's hands, Jane's scent. Jane made eye contact. Her eyes full of arousal. Maura let go a breath she didn't know she was

"Bedroom. Now."

Maura practically ran there

\-------------------------------------------------

They were still lying in bed when the Isles' returned to the house. Shopping bags in tow.

"Mrs Pendergast, are the girls back yet?"

"Yes, Mrs Isles, they are"

"Ah good. Where are they? Are they in the kitchen?"

"No Mrs Isles, they are…" she nodded her head towards the bedrooms

"Ah, say no more" Constance said, waving her hands"

"Tea Mrs Isles?"

"Yes please, coffee for Arthur if you don't mind"

The two girls started getting dressed upon hearing the Isles' come back in. Maura made her way to the kitchen, and Jane went to the living room.

"Good afternoon Jane" she was greeted by both Constance and Arthur when she entered

"Good afternoon." She smiled and sat down in an empty armchair beside the fire "I was just wondering if your offer for a ride home was still good?"

"Yes Jane it certainly is"

"Oh cool, Maura has asked me to stay another night, so If it's ok with you I'll go first thing tomorrow?"

"Yes dear that is fine with us. I'll make the arrangements for you"

"Thank you Mrs Isles"

"Please, call me Constance"

"Jane smiled again. "Thank you very much Constance"

"No problem dear"

Maura came in with 4 cups on a tray, she set it down on the coffee table and handed the hot drinks to her mother and father and finally to Jane. She took the armchair opposite to Jane.

"Jane has informed us she is leaving tomorrow morning, will you be joining her? Or are you staying here?" Arthur asked

"Oh, I was going to stay here if that's ok Father?"

"Of course it is, this is your house too Maura" he smiled.

"The conversation carried on between the 4 of them until Mrs Pendergast announced that dinner was ready. All 4 of them made their way into the kitchen and sat at the table.

"Jane, my apologies. Do you have any food allergies?" Constance asked

"No, I can and will eat anything put in front of me" she replied with a laugh

"Excellent"

"Mrs Pendergast and another member of the kitchen staff set a starter of prawn cocktail in front of them. Jane had just about put her fork down, before it, and the empty food glass were cleared from in front of her.

"That was delicious as always Mrs Pendergast" Constance spoke again

Mrs Pendergast bowed and smiled as she took the last remaining dirty dishes from the room

Jane caught Maura's eye from across the table. They smiled at each other. It didn't go unnoticed by Arthur and Constance, who in turn smiled at each other. They had never seen their daughter this happy. With

Mrs Pendergast re entered the room with new wine glasses, and set them down in front of each person, along with a bottle of wine. She popped the cork

"Best to leave that for a few minutes to air" she said as she turned to leave the room

More kitchen staff brought the main course, and extra trimmings to the table and poured the wine into the clean glasses.

They ate in relative silence. Jane had never tasted food so good, the turkey was perfect, the beef was perfect and the roast potatoes were to die

"I don't think I've ever had food this good in my life" Jane said, breaking the silence.

"Mrs Pendergast knows her way around a kitchen" Arthur said. Everyone agreed.

When they had finally finished eating, once again dishes were cleared and a new bottle of wine brought to the table.

"I hope you saved room for dessert" Maura smiled at Jane

"I'm so full, but I'm sure I could manage something sweet" Jane winked

Maura blushed

"Dessert is a chocolate tort. Family recipe" Maura smiled

"If you think dinner was good, wait until you taste this" Constance added

right on cue, dessert arrived and was placed in front of them, wine was pored into fresh glasses and new cutlery put on the table.

Jane put a forkful of tort in her mouth and stopped.

"Are you ok?" Maura asked looking worried

"Holy shiii…" she stopped herself "This is amazing"

"Shall I add this to the list of recipes you wanted Ms Rizzoli?" Mrs Pendergast laughed. Everyone else did

Dinner was over, Mr and Mrs Isles retired to their offices. Jane and Maura stayed at the table with cups of coffee.

"I had a lovely day today" Maura stated

"Me too" Jane said, taking Maura's hand in her own

"Shall we go watch a film?"

"Will you fall asleep on me again?" Jane smirked

Maura laughed "More than likely. I don't know what it is about films, but I never seem to be able to stay awake through them"

"Note to self, don't take you to a movie on a date"

They both laughed

"Shall we just go to bed? We can watch something on my laptop if you're not tired?"

"Sounds like a plan"

"They got up from the table, and rinsed their cups and put them in the now empty dishwasher

"AH, Jane." Constance called "Our driver is picking you up at 7am, is that ok with you?"

"Yeah, that's perfect thank you Constance"

Behind her, Maura pouted. She didn't want Jane to go.

"Goodnight ladies"

"Goodnight" they chorused.

They followed Constance out of the kitchen, she ascended the stairs whilst the two girls headed down the corridor to Maura's room. Once inside, they both got changed into their pyjamas and got into bed. Maura turned on her laptop for the first time in over a week and loaded up Netflix.

"What do you want to watch?" she asked

"Hmm, do you want to watch a film, or a 20 minute TV show?"

"TV could be good"

"Have you ever seen The Office?"

"Maura looked her with a blank expression

"Have you ever heard of The Office?"

Maura shook her head

"I guess that settles it, we're watching The Office"

They settled into bed whilst Jane explained the plot of the show to Maura

"A documentary about a paper company?"

"A mocumentary" Jane corrected "Its a scripted TV show that is filmed as if its a documentary"

Maura looked confused

"Just watch, you'll understand once you've watched a few episodes"

"Ok"

"Jane put her arm around Maura, and Maura in turn put her head on Jane's chest.

6 episodes later, Maura yawned. Jane looked at the clock. It was after midnight.

"Maybe we should get some sleep, its 12:30"

"Yes, we should. You've got an early start" Maura frowned

"Ugh. Don't remind me" Janed groaned "I'm not a morning person at all"

"Then why did you agree to go so early?"

"I was being polite"

Maura laughed "You should have just said no, my mother wouldn't have minded"

"Well thanks for the Captain Hindsight"

Maura laughed again. She closed the laptop, put it under her bed and lay down in bed. Once Jane had settled, she turned off the bedside lamp, leaving the room in darkness.

"I'm going to miss you"

"I'm going to miss you too Jane"

"I'll miss being able to do this" Maura continued

Jane felt Maura's fingers go under her bed t-shirt and trace a line up her abdomen and down again. Jane shifted them both and quickly came to be straddling Maura. She grabbed her wrists and put them above her head

"Now Doctor Isles" Jane whispered into Maura's ear "What am I going to do with those wondering hands of yours?"

Maura gulped.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“Jane”

“Mmm”

“Jane”

“Mmm… What?”

“Your alarm is going off”

Jane rolled over and pressed snooze

“No it’s not”

Maura laughed to herself and settled down. 10 minutes later, her alarm went off again

“Ugh, alright I’ll get up” Jane mumbled into her pillow.

She turned the alarm off, and went straight into the bathroom to shower. She came out refreshed and clean, just in time to see Maura getting changed. She came up behind her, and slid her hands around Maura’s bare waist kissing her neck

“Hey you” Maura leaned into Jane’s touch

“Hey” Jane replied between kisses

Maura turned around to face Jane. Jane took in every inch of Maura Isles standing in front of her, in only her underwear

“I’m going to miss you” Maura said

“I’m going to miss you too” Jane replied, and quickly brought her face down to kiss Maura.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Jane went over to the door and opened it

“Good Morning Jane, Our driver will be here in 15 minutes. Mrs Pendergast has prepared you a breakfast to eat on the drive up”

“Thank you Constance, I’ll finish packing and be right out”

“Excellent” Constance replied and walked towards the kitchen

Jane turned around to find Maura fully dressed

“I liked it better when you were undressed”

Maura smiled and blushed. She walked over to Jane and kissed her.

“Are you all packed?”

“Yeah, I packed everything last night” 

She went over and pulled the handle of her small rolling suitcase up and rolled it towards the door

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

It was Jane’s turn to laugh

“I am coming with you on the drive however, I didn’t think you’d want to be on your own in the car”

Jane’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Lets go get breakfast”

*****************

“Ah, Maura dear. Mrs Pendergast has made you a breakfast to go also. We assumed you’d be travelling up with Jane”

“Yes mother, that was my intention”

“Will you be staying, or are you coming back?”

“I’ll be coming back, don’t worry”

“Excellent, we would miss you at the Isles New Years Eve Benefit”

“Jane” Arthur started “Will you be joining us? You and your family are more than welcome”

“Thank you for the invite sir, but the last thing you’d want is the Rizzoli’s at a fancy party” She said with a laugh

Arthur smiled

“Jane, please, you can call me Arthur. But, if you change your mind, the invitation still stands”

“Thank you very much”

Mrs Pendergast came into the dining room and handed Jane and Maura their breakfasts and some cutlery.

“Your car has arrive Dr Isles”

“Thank you Mrs Pendergast”

The driver came into the house and took Jane’s suitcase from her to put in the car. Constance and Arthur came to the door to say goodbye to Jane.

“Jane, before you go. A word please?”

Maura looked at her mother for a moment, and then turned to look at Jane before getting into the car.

“Yes, Constance?”

“Thank you for making our daughter happy.”

“Oh, you’re more than welcome. She makes me really happy”

“And thank you for making this the best Christmas we’ve ever had, really” Arthur added

‘Oh, it was nothing really. It was just… Christmas” she said with a shrug

She hugged them both goodbye and thanked them for letting her stay. She had just about got into the car when Maura immediately asked her what that was about

“Nothing, really. They just thanked me for staying”

Maura’s eyes narrowed

“Really, they just said that I made you happy and they had a good Christmas”

“Hmm, ok”

“What? You don’t believe me”

“I do, I guess I’ve just seen too many shows where parents threaten to harm their children’s significant others if they double cross them”

Jane laughed 

“It was nothing like that. They are just happy you’re happy”

Maura smiled

“You do make me very happy Jane. I know its happened very quickly, but I would like this to turn into something more than a ‘Holiday romance’”

“Me too.” she smiled as she gave Maura a kiss.

The driver wound down the partition window to introduce himself to Jane and mention where the service stations they would be stopping at on their way to Manchester. Once he had done that, he rolled the window up and set off on their 4 hour journey north.


	11. Chapter 11

They arrived at The Rizzoli Household around midday, Jane had fallen asleep somewhere between Banbury and Leamington Spa.

“Jane… Jane”

“Mmmm”

“We’re here”

“Oh, I feel asleep. I’m sorry”

“Don’t worry. You are very cute when you sleep” Maura smiled

Jane pouted

Their moment was interrupted by Angela opening the car door

“JAAANE, MAURA YOU’RE BACK”

She practically pulled them both out of the car

“C’MON, C’MON I’ve made lunch for you both… Wait. Who drove you here?”

“That would be me Madam” The driver said, as he got out of the car

Angela walked over to him and held out her hand

“Angela Rizzoli”

“James Watson”

“Well James Watson, you better come inside too. Lunch is ready”

He went to protest, but Angela was practically pushing everyone inside

“I’m really sorry about her, she just gets over excited when she gets to cook for people”

James smiled

“It’s fine Ms Rizzoli, it beats service station food”

They all walked into the dining room where Tommy and Frankie were sitting already. Angela starting bringing in bowls of soup for everyone. She brought in her own and started eating.

“Maura, are you staying long?”

“No Angela, I’ll leave just after lunch. I’ve got some engagements to attend tonight”

“Shame. It’s nice having you here. It’s nice having someone who knows manners”

Jane, Tommy and Frankie groaned. Maura laughed.

They finished their soup in relative silence. James offered to clear everyone’s dishes. Angela agreed to let him help, offering a side eye to her kids.

They both walked in again with more plates of food and set them down. Angela went to the kitchen and got a bottle of wine for the table. Everyone had a glass, except James, who was driving.

“Angela” Maura spoke “My Parents have extended an invitation to you all to their Isles Foundation New Years Eve Party”

“Oh. You don’t want us Rizzoli’s at your fancy party” Angela waved her hand “Tell your parents thank you for the offer though” and smiled

Jane laughed

“What’s so funny Jane?” Angela laughed

“I said the exact same thing when they mentioned it to me this morning”

“Oh. Are going?”

“No. I’m staying here with you”

“Oh. Ok”

“Do you not want me to?”

“No.. I do…”

“Buuuuut?”

“But I thought you’d have gone with your girlfriend”

“Nope.”

Angela smiled. She was beyond happy that Jane was staying for New Year.

Once dinner was finished and dessert was refused, Tommy and Frankie left to go watch TV. Angela went to put everything in the dishwasher and joined the boys. James left the two ladies alone in the dining room to go and check on the car.

“I’m really going to miss you” Jane said, as she took Maura’s hand.

“I’ll miss you too. Maybe I’ll come up and see you before you go back to Boston”

Jane’s face lit up like a Christmas tree

“I’d really like that” she beamed

“Excellent”

James walked into the room

“Ready to go when you are Dr Isles. We’ll perhaps need to stop for petrol before we leave Manchester”

“Fine by me James. I’ll say my goodbyes and come right out”

“Would you mind if I thanked Mrs Rizzoli for her hospitality?”

“Go ahead James”

“Why did he ask your permission for that?”

“He’s on the clock”

Jane looked at her open mouthed

“James is old school, he was a driver in a time when people didn’t acknowledge the help. When permission needed to be asked to do anything”

Jane still said nothing

“My parents never ask him to do that, in fact they have told him he does’t need to do that, but I believe old habits die hard”

“OK…”

“Some old money thinks it better than other people”

Jane didn’t exactly understand what that meant, but she nodded anyway

Maura stood up

“I’ll go say my goodbyes also”

Jane got up and walked into the living room with her. James was just leaving and heading to the car.

“Maura, he’s so polite”

“Yes, he really is. He’s not been with us very long, but he is probably the best driver the family has ever had”

Angela smiled

“Thank you for coming sweetie, it was lovely to meet you”

“Thank you, once again Angela for your lovely hospitality.”

They hugged, perhaps a bit too tightly for Maura’s liking.

She said her goodbyes to Frankie and Tommy and headed out with Jane to the hallway. Jane took Maura’s hands in hers, and gave her a kiss.

“I’ll see you soon”

“Yes, you will” she said with a smile.

They kissed again and then Jane walked Maura to the car

“I miss you already”

Maura smiled and kissed Jane

“I miss you too Jane”

She got into the car and Jane shut the door. She waved as they drove off. Once they got around the corner and out of site, Jane went back into the house. She grabbed 3 beers and a glass of wine for everyone, and sank into one of the arm chairs.

Angela looked over at her and smiled weakly

“You didn’t have to come back if you didn’t want to Janey”

“I know, but Christmas is the only time I really get to see you”

“I’m officially retiring next year, so I’ll be able to come visit more”

“It’s ok Ma, you don’t have to”

“I think I want dessert now” Tommy interrupted

“Go get some for everybody then” Angela answered

“What is it?” Jane asked

“Cannoli” everyone else chorused

Jane rolled her eyes. What a stupid question.

* * *

Tommy came back into the room and handed her a plate

“Thanks bro”

“No Problem”

They ate their dessert and watched TV for a while, Jane had her nose in her phone texting Maura.

They were texting into the evening, before Maura had to get ready for the dinner party her parents were hosting.

Angela offered everyone dinner, but they were all too full to eat. Christmas is the time for over indulging, but this was too much.

They opted to play board games instead. It was always a Christmas time tradition. Plus, it helped Jane take her mind off missing Maura for a few hours.

When they all got bored of board games, they moved on to watching a film. There were plenty of Christmas films to choose from on the many streaming services, but they finally settled on Die Hard.

Jane checked her phone and seen she had a text from Maura.

_Just in case you missed me ;) xx_

it was a picture of her in a dress

_You’re so Beautiful xx_

_I miss you xx_

_I miss you too Maura. Can’t wait to see you again xx_

_Can’t wait to see you either xx_

Before Jane could reply to her, she sent through another text

_Dessert is about to be served. Would you like me to call you after? xx_

_Definitely. Have fun babe xx_

Jane put her phone away and carried on watching the film.

* * *

The film ended and Jane once again checked her phone. She had a message from Maura.

_Ready when you are xx_

It was timestamped over half an hour ago

_Sorry, we were watching a film. Are you free now? xx_

_Always free for you Jane xx_

Jane smiled, she made her excuses to leave and headed up to her room. Her mother had made the bed since she’d left. She plugged in her headphones, found Maura’s number and hit dial. It only rang once before Maura picked up.

“That was quick” Jane laughed

“I had my phone in my hand waiting for you”

“How was dinner?”

“It was fine, mother had planned goose for the main course. It was beautiful”

“I’ve never had goose. I imagine it just tastes like chicken”

“It does” Maura laughed

They carried on talking for over two hours, until Maura yawned

“What time is it?” she asked

Jane checked the clock on her bedside table

“11pm. It’s late. I should let you go. You’ve had a busy day”

“Thank you Jane. Oh, before I go, I have some bad news”

“What is it?”

“Well, I checked my diary to see when I’d be able to get back and visit, and it turns out I won’t be able to see you before you go back”

“Oh…” Jane replied

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realise that I had a few Isles Foundation events to attend whilst I was over”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it”

“It’s not fine, and I do worry. I really wanted to see you before you went. I don’t think I can wait until I get back to Boston”

Jane could tell that Maura was on the verge of tears

“Heyyyy it’s fine. Don’t worry. I’ll come pick you up from the airport. It can be like in the movies. I’ll wait there with a sign that has your name on it, and you’ll drop your suitcase and run into my arms and give me a kiss. It’ll be romantic”

Maura laughed. She felt a little better

“Are you flying from London, or Manchester?”

“Manchester”

“Oh. Ok”

“Why?”

“Oh, If you had have been flying from London, I was going to offer you to come down here the night before”

“Sorry”

“It’s not your fault”

“I know but I’m still sorry”

Maura yawned again

“Go get some sleep beautiful”

“Goodnight Jane”

“Goodnight Maura”

They hung up, and Jane got changed and got into bed. She realised just how tired she was, and fell asleep straight away

* * *

New Year came and went in a blur, Maura and Jane texted each other as much as they could in between family time and family events and before Jane knew it, she was packing her suitcase to go back to Boston.

“I’m gonna miss ya Janie” Frankie said

“I’ll miss you too Frankie. Come visit me sometime eh?” she joked.

Angela was helping Jane pack by folding her clothes and putting them away in the case.

“If neither of you are going to help me, please leave the room”

Frankie ran off, and Jane turned to help

“Thanks for your help Ma”

“You’re welcome Janie. Pass me your socks”

Jane passed over the socks from the dresser

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to see Maura before you left”

“It’s fine. I’m picking her up from the airport next week”

“Aww, young love”

Jane rolled her eyes

Once the suitcase was packed, Jane lifted it down the stairs and put it in the hallway ready to go in the morning

“Are you sure you’re alright to give me a lift to the airport in the morning?

“Of course Jane, what time do you want to leave?”

“My flights at 9, I’d like to be there at 7/7:30, so quarter to 7?”

“Sure thing”

She looked at the clock

“It’s late. You better get some sleep, you’re up early”

“Thanks Ma”

“Jane?”

“Yeah?”

“Make sure you set an alarm”

Jane laughed, and double checked she set one.

* * *

Her alarm went off at 6am, she got up, got dressed and went downstairs. Angela had prepared a full breakfast for her

“I don’t want you being hungry at the airport. Their food is expensive. I’ve made you a packed lunch too, I know you think airplane food is gross.

“Thanks Ma”

Angela put the sandwich in Jane’s hand luggage and put a plate of food in front of her. Jane ate quickly as it was nearly time to go.

When she was finished, she grabbed her suitcase and hand luggage and put them on the back seat of the car. Her mother had already turned the ignition on so the car would heat up.

They got to the airport in less than 20 minutes, Jane kissed her mother on the cheek and entered the terminal. When she got there there was a large queue, but it was moving fast. She eventually got the check in desk

"Oh, you could have used the fast lane Miss Rizzoli. You’re in first class”

“What?”

“You’ve got a first class ticket” he said as he handed her her passport back and gave her her ticket.

“Thank you sir”

“Maura must have upgraded my ticket” she smiled to herself.

She was still half asleep when she was going through security. Her first class ticket afforded her the fast lane. She browsed the duty-free stores and settled down in a chair until her gate was called.

She got on the plane, and made her way to first class. She checked the seat number on her ticket, looked along the ceiling to find the matching number, she arrive and noticed that someone was in her seat

“Sorry to bother you but I think you’re in my seat”

The lady in her seat got up, and spoke

“Apologies detective. Please, sit down”

“MAURA? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? I thought you didn’t leave for another week?”

“I missed you” Maura replied.


End file.
